The delightful Johann Strauss comic opera Die Fledermaus was mercilessly lampooned in this truly bizarre production. For starters, a framing device has been added: After appearing in 300 consecutive appearances of Fledermaus (which translates as The Bat) the lead tenor (Georg Alexander) imagines that he's seeing bats everywhere. Driven a bit over the edge by all this, he falls asleep and has a nightmare about the opera, with a group of non-singers cast in the leading roles. The original libretto about romantic assignations, political imprisonments and mistaken identity is burlesqued to the hilt: at one point, the hero finds out that his prison cell is surrounded by rubber tubes!
Directed by Paul Verhoeven, Hans H. Zerlett
Your score–
Not scoredImages
Cast
Lída Baarová
Maria Weigel / Rosalinde
Hans Söhnker
Kammersänger Hans Weigel / Eisenstein
Friedl Czepa
Hanni / Adele
Jola Jobst
Berta / Ida
Georg Alexander
Staatsanwalt Wentin / Frank
Robert Dorsay
Chauffeur Franz / Alfred
Hans Moser
Hans Moser
Harald Paulsen
Rechtsanwalt Dr. Rommel / Dr.Falke
Karl Stepanek
Attaché Baranoff / Orlovsky
Hans Stiebner
Kapellmeister
Otto Graf
Rundfunkreporter
Albert Ihle
Präsident
Arthur Kistenmacher
Polizist
Erwin Werner
Bühnenarbeiter
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